This likeness of Jefferson was painted by Mather Brown when Jefferson visited London in the spring of 1786. (Private Collection / Peter Newark Pictures / The Bridgeman Art Library.)

Most scholars who
have studied the portraits of Thomas Jefferson have concluded that the first known one was painted in London by the 24-year-old American artist Mather Brown in the
spring of 1786, while Jefferson was visiting from Paris.1 (Jefferson was in London from 11 March23 through 26 April 1786.4) But recent analysis of letters and other documents suggests that
an earlier portrait existed.

In a letter dated 23 July 1786, sent by Abigail Adams (John's wife) in London to Jefferson in Paris, Abigail
mentioned a portrait of Jefferson that "…dignifies a part of our room…." 5

Portion of letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (23 July 1786) in which she refers to a portrait of Jefferson that "dignifies a part of our room." (Recipient's copy, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)

And in a letter to Jefferson dated 26 June 1787, Abigail
again alluded to a portrait of him in their home. Referring to Jefferson's
recently arrived young daughter (Polly) from America, Abigail said: "I shew [show] her your picture." 6

Portion of letter from Abigail Adams to Thomas Jefferson (26 June 1787) in which she discusses the arrival of Jefferson's young daughter Polly: "I shew [show] her your picture." (Recipient's copy, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.)

Abigail Adams
(1744-1818), by Gilbert Stuart. (Courtesy of The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.)

Because until now no earlier
portrait of Jefferson was believed to exist, art historians have assumed that
Abigail must have been referring to the 1786 Brown portrait in her letters to
Jefferson.7 But analysis of Jefferson's correspondence and contemporary press reporting indicates
that the 1786 Brown portrait of Jefferson was still in Brown's studio when
Abigail wrote her letters, and consequently couldn't have been the one
mentioned by her.8

Likewise, Brown's copy of his
original portrait of Jefferson was not completed until sometime between 20 June
1788 and 15 August 1788—several months after the Adamses left England to
return to America.9 So
that portrait also couldn't have been the one mentioned by Abigail in her
letters.

These observations suggest that a
portrait of Jefferson other than either of the Brown portraits of him was
possessed by the Adamses while they were in London—and that this portrait
was completed prior to 23 July 1786, the date of Abigail's first letter.

Is the Delapierre Portrait the Missing Jefferson Portrait?

"Mirror-image" similarities
between the 1785 Delapierre portrait and a Mather Brown portrait of John Adams
received by Jefferson in 178810 suggest that Brown had access to the Delapierre work, making it a reasonable
candidate for the missing portrait. Jefferson traveled to London and stayed
with the Adamses shortly after the Delapierre painting was finished, and could
have delivered it to them at that time.11

References and notes

[1]The 1786 Brown portrait of
Jefferson—or a copy of that portrait Brown completed
several years later (scholars debate this point)—descended in the family
of John Adams and now is owned and displayed by the National Portrait Gallery
in Washington, D.C. The
version of the portrait that was received by Thomas Jefferson in September
1788 is now lost. (See: Alfred L. Bush, Jefferson and the Arts:
An Extended View…The Life Portraits of Thomas Jefferson, National Gallery
of Art, Washington, D.C., 1976, pp. 20-23.)